Tag Archives: concert

“Lil Uzi did eventually arrive, but it was hours late and his performance only lasted for about 30 minutes.” Photo from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D3TGG3hzbPE/maxresdefault.jpg

On April 3, 2017, Radford University hosted a Lil Uzi Vert concert at the Dedmon Center. Students were excited for the event and tickets were sold out the day of the concert. Doors opened at 7 p.m. and the show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. To start off, Radford provided a DJ, then Lil Uzi had a DJ as his opener. However, when 8 o’clock rolled around, the headliner was missing. Students in the crowd quickly became annoyed and restless when minutes passed and still no Uzi was on stage. They had been listening to the DJs for the past hour and were ready to see the main performer. But for about another two and a half hours, the crowd was kept waiting. Lil Uzi did eventually arrive, but it was hours late and his performance only lasted for about 30 minutes. As expected, concertgoers were confused, annoyed and even angry. “Of the three and a half hours of being there, Uzi was there for 30 minutes,” commented one student on the event’s Facebook page. Another commented, “It was a waste of money.”

Tickets for the concert were $32 for the general public and $20 for students with their Radford ID, so the audience’s frustration is understandable. If you pay that much money for a ticket, you expect to get what you pay for, for the performer to arrive on time and to perform for the expected amount of time, and to have an enjoyable concert experience. Some students have even asked for a refund. As of now, there is no word on whether Radford will provide refunds.

R-Space President Vashti Huff said about the concert, “From our [R-Space’s] standpoint it was successful, because we made revenue, but if I was a person who attended the event, I would be thoroughly mad, because it was the performance we promised, but it wasn’t to our expectations.” She added, “We did the best with what we had and with the cards we were dealt,” referring to Radford and Uzi’s DJs who performed while the crowd was waiting.

Last Tuesday there was a concert on campus in Covington. But on the grand stage where you might usually find classical musicians and graceful dancers, there was instead a bluegrass band and a bare-footed man.

The Roots concert hosted two musical performances. The first act being The Java Brothers, a local bluegrass band (you’ve probably seen them jamming out at River City Grill on Monday nights) followed by one-man-band, A.J. Gaither.

Dr. Bay, professor of art education, initiated and organized the event, with the goal to introduce Roots to Radford, a movement which puts emphasis on the process of creating. Dr. Bay introduced the performers in his familiar sense of humor that the College of Visual and Performing Arts knows and loves. With help from the Art Education club, a canned food collection and a raffle also was hosted, offering up original art and a signed cigar box guitar from Gaither. Appalachian Studies and The Scholar Citizen Initiative were also connected to the event.

Being a student in Radford, located in the Appalachian mountains, it is hard not to become attracted to the bluegrass genre that originated here. The Java Brothers stayed true to the origin of bluegrass with some older customary songs, but also had many great originals created by the band members. The crowd was alive with the music, and we listened as The Java Brothers harmonized and each instrument took turns playing lead breaks. The energy of the band was infectious.

Next on stage was A.J. Gaither, a bearded man with bare feet and overalls, who is known mainly for two things: being a one-man-band, and creating his own instruments. As he sat at his place on stage, you could see him surrounded by drums, cowbells, cymbals, all connected to foot pedals. On his neck was a harmonica, and at the ready were some of his home-made guitars and other stringed instruments.

A.J. joked to us that he started making his own instruments because he was cheap, and that even now, with all his new instruments, he still finds the most enjoyment playing with his old cardboard guitar. The songs he sung were about inspirations in his life: some about breakfast, drugs, drinking, his truck, but they had humor in it. His music got the entire crowd clapping and dancing along in their seats.

It was astounding to hear how good his instruments sounded. Many of them sounded like normal guitars, but with a sound that was new and different. His instruments ranged in shape and size, and they were all completely unique. A.J. Gaither played under the banner Home Made, and his instruments were a perfect example of the roots concept of creating art.

Overall, the show was fun, and it was full of creativity and life. Dr. Bay hopes to have a concert similar in the future.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Bonnie-roo is being put together by the Music Business Association and the SGA College of Visual and Performing Arts student council. They’re trying to create an event that will put every department in the CVPA together. The name Bonnie-roo is actually a spin off of the yearly Bonnaroo music festival. The event was supposed to be in Bonnie Plaza, but was moved.

Essentially, Bonnie-roo is a large concert that will be put together by art departments of RU. Those departments include art, design, theatre, music, and dance. The MBSA is also trying to bring in three local and traveling bands: “Fletcher’s Grove”, “Mad Iguana”, and “Feel Free”. The bands will be confirmed just as soon as there’s funding found to have them perform.Bonnie-Roo flyer

The rest of the entertainment will be in the form of student work and pieces from each department participating. For example: the theatre and dance departments will be doing mini performances. The event is scheduled to take place Saturday, April 25 from 2-7 p.m. on Heth Lawn.

Samantha Onstad (the president of MBSA) contacted Sydney about a proposal Sydney made about creating a CVPA showcase this spring and thought to just combine events. Samantha is in charge of the MBSA planning. Sydney is in charge of gathering people from each department and organizing them. For Sydney, this was something she wanted to do as an SGA member. This event will hopefully help unite the CVPA in the community.

MBSA has funding from their program, but for this event to happen there needs to be more funding from the club programming committee (CPC). Here at Whim, we would like to promote this event and hope that others will try to lend a helping hand. You can do this by looking out for fundraisers that would like to make this happen.

Update: As of Wednesday, March 25th, Bonnie-roo managed to get all the funding they needed from the CPC.

Welcome to our new mini concert series, hereby known as Black Coffee. The name came (with permission) from our first guests, bluegrass players Ben Lassiter and Coleman Gilleland. Without further ado, here’s the pilot episode in all its glory.

At 9:20, the musicians offer an alternate version to an old classic. At 21:25, Ben begins to explain the Dobro guitar and how it’s played.

We would like to take this moment to thank both musicians for agreeing to be the guinea pigs for this project, and our amazing crew for making it less of a trial run, and more of a fantastic first episode. Stay tuned for more to come!

Radford University’s country fans came out to the Dedmon Center on March 27 to see Gloriana, Dustin Lynch and Brent Rupard. Students were decked out in cowboy hats and boots, silver belt buckles and flannel shirts, dancing and singing along with popular country songs. Continue reading Dustin Lynch doesn’t disappoint→

The crowd’s cheers bounced off the walls filling the atmosphere with excitement. Moon Taxi warmed up the crowd for Matsiyahu. Blinding lights flashed into the cheering crowd and caused an exhilarated reverberation in the music’s wake. The audience danced and sang along to every piercing song. The music reached out to every body and their soul. Continue reading Matsiyahu takes over Radford University→

On June 30, 1979 Matthew Paul Miller, later known as Matisyahu, was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. As a young man, he attended Hebrew school while being raised a Reconstructionist Jew. During his later years of schooling, he spent two months in Israel. This experience greatly influenced him, as he was able to experience the culture he’d grown up learning about.

Miller has been singing his unique reggae style in the music scene since 2004 when he signed with JDub Records. For his musical career, he created the stage name Matisyahu. The record company gave him a platform to climb from as he continued to improve his music and increase his fan base. In 2006, the live version of his song “King Without A Crown” reached the top ten in Modern Rock Top 10. Later in 2009, his song “One Day” received national publicity when NBC used it during their advertisements for the upcoming winter Olympics. Continue reading Matisyahu comes to RU on Nov. 6→

Country singer Corey Smith visited Radford University on Nov. 3, and nearly filled Preston Hall. With only about the back eight rows empty, a sea of flannel shirts and baseball caps filled the auditorium in anticipation. Continue reading Corey Smith entertains→

As I strolled up to the 9:30 club in a seedier part of D.C. (who knew?), I saw two small lines forming; I checked my iPhone and was surprised. It was 6:16 p.m., on the eve of a sold out Mutemath show and the line was no bigger than 20 people. I was bewildered, yet elated, because I knew I could secure a good spot. I soon found out that the other, smaller line was the VIP line – people who shelled out $15 extra for a chance to meet the band, get in early, and secure some coveted 9:30 cupcakes. Initially, I was a little peeved that they got to get in first, but it hardly mattered. I had all the space in the world to choose from, so my girlfriend and I took a spot upstairs on the balcony. Continue reading Mutemath loudly impresses with their live chemistry and performance→

Radford University was lucky enough to host rising acoustic pop artist Austin Renfroe in the Bonnie last Wednesday. Renfroe is originally from Nashville, Tenn., but spent a lot of his time in Fredericksburg, Va. When he first stepped on stage, his baseball cap made it hard to see his face. It’s typically taboo to wear a hat on stage, but this bad first impression went out the window when he took the mic. His powerful, soulful voice had audience members’ jaws on the floor when he began to sing. Everyone looked at their friends as if to say, “that voice can’t possibly be coming from that tiny body!” Renfroe told the audience later that he knows his voice doesn’t match his body, but often some of the best musicians are the ones that surprise you. Continue reading Austin Renfroe’s talent takes over the Bonnie→

Even though the show didn’t start until 8 p.m., by 7 p.m., there was a long line of plaid shirts and cowboy hats streaming into Preston. There had been buzz on campus for weeks about the Brantley Gilbert show, and it seemed to be the only thing country music fans could talk about. When the night finally arrived, the high energy could be felt bouncing off the walls of the auditorium as people clapped their hands and stomped their cowboy boot heels in unison. The Radford University police officers at the edge of the stage were even joking around with the crowd as they waited impatiently. Something about country music just gets everyone so excited.

Craig Campbell. Photo by Brian Hollingsworth.

A roadie in a Jim Beam shirt walked across the stage and the crowd began to cheer in anticipation. When Craig Campbell took the stage, decked out in a black cowboy hat and a sharp purple shirt, jubilant fans rushed to the front and created a wall of clapping, screaming, dancing country lovers. Campbell has that husky, southern accent that makes girls swoon, and many did as he began to sing, “That’s Music To Me.” He asked to thunderous cheers from the crowd, “So, ya’ll don’t mind if I play you a country song?”

Campbell showed off his many musical talents, putting down his guitar to take a seat at the piano, commenting that he once played for Lou Bryant (another country artist coming to Roanoke in just a few weeks). His soulful voice rang out across the crowd, as students–to the displeasure of RU police–held their lighters in the air. Campbell saved his top radio hit “Fish” for last, closing his set on a strong note. His voice rang out, “Do y’all even like to fish?” which, in the context of the song, is a very funny question to ask college students.

After a brief intermission, a loud mix of what can only be described as country-rap boomed through the completely dark theater. The crowd impatiently waited in darkness for a few minutes. In a glow of red light, against the roaring cheers from the crowd, and under a loud beat of hip-hop/rap music repeating, “Cowboy baby!” Brantley Gilbert took the stage. “Let’s raise some Hell,” he said, as his band began to play familiar country beats and the crowd began to sway and sing to the music. His powerful voice echoed around the auditorium, its sound sent through an old Elvis-style microphone.

Brantley Gilbert. Photo by Nikohl Miller.

A sea of waving, clapping arms with orange wristbands attempted to keep the beat, and not all were successful. But it didn’t matter in the slightest. Everyone in the auditorium was united by a common love for this energetic, deep-south country music. It was no accident that Gilbert and his band bathed in red, white and blue lights for most of the show. Country music emphasizes the old-fashioned values of family, patriotism and–most importantly–having a good time. “We throwin’ down tonight baby! Y’all make some noise,” Gilbert said as members of his band laid into the heavy rhythm of his next song. Even Gilbert’s roadies, who have no doubt heard his set many times before, couldn’t help but bob their heads off on the side of the stage to Gilbert’s infectious melodies. Every single person in the auditorium was up and out of their seat, cheering the up and down wails of a country guitar’s twang. Gilbert’s performance did much more than simply entertain the crowd. Country music takes a lot of people back to their roots and away from the stresses and pressures of college life. Gilbert did exactly that, leaving the crowd with that familiar taste of home and the memories of an unforgettable show.

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, R-SPaCE hosted possibly the biggest event of the semester–3OH!3 in concert with guests Hellogoodbye, Down With Webster and The Secret Handshake. Before the doors even opened at 7 p.m., people were lining up around the Dedmon Center where the gig was held. Listening to the conversations before the show, you could easily tell that many people had come from other universities as well as the area high schools to have the opportunity to see these bands play live.

The night began with The Secret Handshake, which was probably the least known band on the bill, but the audience was very welcoming nonetheless. They were probably the most chill performers of the night as well as the most in sync (they were really into swaying along with their music). The next band was Down With Webster and the response they received from the crowd was only rivaled by the love showed for 3OH!3 further into the night. They really got the crowd pumped and showered them with red cups emblazoned with the DWW logo their fan base has grown to recognize.

Photo by Jenny Krashin.

Hellogoodbye performed a lot of songs from their new album Would It Kill You?, which drops Nov. 9. The crowd really seemed to enjoy the new tunes, but I also think they would’ve enjoyed hearing some more old favorites. And who could forget Forest’s claims that they were actually 3OH!3 and that they started a clothing line called Hellogoodbye that was selling at a merchandise table in the back. Good times. Then, after waiting with anticipation for what felt like forever, 3OH!3 took the stage. They played songs from all three of their albums and one of my favorites of the night was Sean’s rap about the wolves with laser beam eyes. If you didn’t go to the show, don’t have your vision checked because you definitely read that correctly–WOLVES WITH LASER BEAM EYES. Honestly, they were probably the coolest thing to be seen the whole night, not to mention the little Carlton-esque jig that Sean and Nat did during “Starstruckk.”

Photo by Jenny Krashin.

Having been to a concert at Virginia Tech the week before, I’ve got to say that I was really impressed with the RU crowd and how they treated the opening acts. At Tech, the first two bands didn’t really get much response from the audience. On the other hand, some people should probably brush up on their concert etiquette before attending a show because I know a lot of people who went home miserable because of the people around them.

Photo by Jenny Krashin.

Overall, the bands were great and each performance had really memorable moments. Be sure to thank R-SPaCE for putting together an amazing show and the various fraternities that helped out with the heavy lifting.

Black Coffee

Black Coffee is a joint media project created and produced by Whim and Radford on Camera. Black Coffee takes the talents of Radford’s musically gifted and provides them with an outlet to play for the community by means of student-run, student-produced media.